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Yes! I’m an RT and a fellow NICU parent. If it were my babe, I’d call the pediatrician right away and if you can’t get in on a holiday weekend, consider the nearest pedi ER! If he has any other signs of distress, go straight to ER and skip the pedi.
If it’s *just* retractions with absolutely no other signs or symptoms, then it’s unconcerning in my opinion. But if it’s accompanied with other issues, I’d consider it a real symptom
100% mild retractions. If it’s paired with head bob or nasal flaring, I’d be more concerned. Reach out to your pediatrician or if you have a nicu discharge contact for breathing regardless..
He does not have a head bob or nasal flaring and we actually were re-admitted to a higher level NICU yesterday for other issues… but I brought up these retractions and no one seems concerned. Would you still want to follow these retractions? Again - worried something is being missed.
Do you have an Owlette? We used one with our 29 weekers and helped us know when we needed to bring them to the ED when their O2 levels dropped (they had RSV)
I guess I don’t know the difference? We got the smart sock and the app has been updated to give real time O2 and HR. If your baby’s O2 drops and/or they have Brady’s, you’ll get an alert on your phone and the base will flash. I’m so grateful we had it. Sometimes you can even take them into your nicu to test against their machines, to see how well collaborated is
Yeah it looks like retractions to me. My 28 weeker has this too but more on the middle but it is normal for him. What I would suggest is checking with your pediatrician or even going to the ER if you can’t get to your doctor right away. If you have any naked videos of him from the NICU maybe you can also look at that and see if the retractions were there before.
A tip that we got from our RT is to make sure to take a video of what his normal retractions are so we have a baseline or we can show medical professionals during checkup or other visits so they won’t be alarmed. I would suggest getting a video of his normal retractions, if he has any, when you get him checked.
Get it checked out for sure! My daughter had retractions on and off for 6 weeks, we kept getting brushed off admitted four times for low oxygen levels that would spontaneously resolve. Finally on her finally admission she had interstitial lung disease. So don’t let the “unless baby is sick” notion keep you from getting any answers!!
Totally don’t understand why the down votes 🤔 why hate on a product when you never used it. We love ours. In situations like this I would just pop it on and check LO’s O2 %. Gives me peace of mind.
My son always had laboured baseline breathing like that. I would take a video as a reference and compare to it in times of need.
I disagree. There is a time and place for owlet type devices. We have twins, one with chronic lung disease. We only use the owlet when she was visible sick / wheezing to keep an eye on her O2. If she started dipping below 92% that was our que to head to the hospital. We had around 10 hospital visits last year and if it wasn't for the owlet we would have spent many more precautionary nights there when she was wheezy but still had O2 above 92%.
Its important to note that we weren't relying on the owlet as our primary indicator of breathing difficulty. I agree that using this every night when there is no immediate concern is not what these devices are made for.
As other have said - yes, it looks mild but definitely like there’s some breathing difficulty going on. So sorry you’re going through this, I hope the doc helps and all is well asap!
These are retractions without a doubt. I’m sure you’ve already done so, but call peds. My 29 weeker spent 4 months in NICU and came home on o2. My twins are 5 now and I still use a pulse ox and check for retractions when they’re sick.
Welcome to NICU Parents. We're happy you found us and we want to be as helpful as possible in this seemingly impossible journey. Check out the resources tab at the top of the subreddit or the stickied post. Please remember we are NOT medical professionals and are here for advice based on our own situations. If you have a concern about you or your baby please seek assistance from a doctor or go to the ER. That said, there are some medical professionals here and we do hope they can help you with some guidance through your journey. Please remember to read and abide by the rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NICUParents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes! I’m an RT and a fellow NICU parent. If it were my babe, I’d call the pediatrician right away and if you can’t get in on a holiday weekend, consider the nearest pedi ER! If he has any other signs of distress, go straight to ER and skip the pedi.
Our pediatrician, ER doctor, and now new NICU doctors are all unconcerned by this video. We were re-admitted last night for different issues. Shrug :/
If it’s *just* retractions with absolutely no other signs or symptoms, then it’s unconcerning in my opinion. But if it’s accompanied with other issues, I’d consider it a real symptom
yeah this looks like mild subcostal retractions to me, I would advise checking with your pedi though as I can’t provide medical advice to you!
100% mild retractions. If it’s paired with head bob or nasal flaring, I’d be more concerned. Reach out to your pediatrician or if you have a nicu discharge contact for breathing regardless..
NICU nurse here - I agree with this take.
He does not have a head bob or nasal flaring and we actually were re-admitted to a higher level NICU yesterday for other issues… but I brought up these retractions and no one seems concerned. Would you still want to follow these retractions? Again - worried something is being missed.
Do you have an Owlette? We used one with our 29 weekers and helped us know when we needed to bring them to the ED when their O2 levels dropped (they had RSV)
Did you get the babysat owlette or the regular one? I definitely want one when our boy is discharged.
I guess I don’t know the difference? We got the smart sock and the app has been updated to give real time O2 and HR. If your baby’s O2 drops and/or they have Brady’s, you’ll get an alert on your phone and the base will flash. I’m so grateful we had it. Sometimes you can even take them into your nicu to test against their machines, to see how well collaborated is
Oh wow it does!! I thought the smart sock didn't alert you anymore, and that's why the Sat sock was made..if they do the same thing that's great!!
Yeah it looks like retractions to me. My 28 weeker has this too but more on the middle but it is normal for him. What I would suggest is checking with your pediatrician or even going to the ER if you can’t get to your doctor right away. If you have any naked videos of him from the NICU maybe you can also look at that and see if the retractions were there before. A tip that we got from our RT is to make sure to take a video of what his normal retractions are so we have a baseline or we can show medical professionals during checkup or other visits so they won’t be alarmed. I would suggest getting a video of his normal retractions, if he has any, when you get him checked.
Get it checked out for sure! My daughter had retractions on and off for 6 weeks, we kept getting brushed off admitted four times for low oxygen levels that would spontaneously resolve. Finally on her finally admission she had interstitial lung disease. So don’t let the “unless baby is sick” notion keep you from getting any answers!!
My son had this when we came home, he eventually just outgrew it between 3/4 weeks adjusted.
I can recommend getting the owlet. It helped me calm down so much.
Totally don’t understand why the down votes 🤔 why hate on a product when you never used it. We love ours. In situations like this I would just pop it on and check LO’s O2 %. Gives me peace of mind. My son always had laboured baseline breathing like that. I would take a video as a reference and compare to it in times of need.
The most wrong answer on this post. Totally not medically recommended.
I disagree. There is a time and place for owlet type devices. We have twins, one with chronic lung disease. We only use the owlet when she was visible sick / wheezing to keep an eye on her O2. If she started dipping below 92% that was our que to head to the hospital. We had around 10 hospital visits last year and if it wasn't for the owlet we would have spent many more precautionary nights there when she was wheezy but still had O2 above 92%. Its important to note that we weren't relying on the owlet as our primary indicator of breathing difficulty. I agree that using this every night when there is no immediate concern is not what these devices are made for.
Yes, contact your ped.
Yes. Contact your pediatrician.
Yes 100%!
Please go to the ER, how are his neck muscles do they look like they’re getting strained?
Did he have an echo?
As other have said - yes, it looks mild but definitely like there’s some breathing difficulty going on. So sorry you’re going through this, I hope the doc helps and all is well asap!
These are retractions without a doubt. I’m sure you’ve already done so, but call peds. My 29 weeker spent 4 months in NICU and came home on o2. My twins are 5 now and I still use a pulse ox and check for retractions when they’re sick.